By Molly Seales

The Riverdale Rebels traveled to Tallulah Academy on Tuesday, February 9, to begin their quest to win the South A Championship.  They had an easy first game, defeating Mt. Salus by a score of 75-38. All of the Rebels saw playing time in the game.  Senior Paul Messenger led all scorers with 18 points. Paul also had 3 rebounds and 2 steals.  Junior Ty Jones added 17 points, 9 assists, and 1 rebound.  Senior Parker Almond had 15 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals. Caden Long added 9 points, pulled down 6 rebounds, and had 2 steals. Denver Williams added 6 points and had 4 rebounds and 4 steals. Noah Wren had 4 points and 1 rebound. Garrett Wilhite added 2 points and pulled down 6 rebounds. Ben Almond and Luke Greer added 2 points each.

Friday night’s game against Tensas proved to be more of a challenge.  Riverdale had defeated Tensas twice in district play, and the Chiefs were out for revenge.  The Riverdale Rebels held on to win the game by a final score of 79-74.  Senior Parker Almond picked a great night to tie his career high points, scoring 31 in the game. He also had 6 rebounds, 4 steals, and 3 assists.  Ty Jones added 25 points, 6 assists, 5 steals, and 4 rebounds. Caden Long added 7 points and had 4 rebounds.  Denver Williams had 6 points, 7 rebounds, and 1 assist. Paul Messenger added 4 points and led the team in rebounds, pulling down 11 boards. Paul also had 2 steals.  Garrett Wilhite added 4 points and had 3 rebounds. Reagan Huddleston had 2 points and 3 rebounds.

Saturday night’s championship game was a matchup of the two #1 seeds in the tournament. Riverdale faced off against the WCCA Rams.  The Rebels came out on top with a final score of 64-47 and brought another blue championship trophy home to East Point. Junior Ty Jones led the Rebels with 25 points. He also had 7 rebounds, 6 assists, and 1 steal. Parker Almond scored 14 points and had 5 rebounds, 4 steals, and 3 assists. Denver Williams also scored in double figures, adding 10 points. Denver also had 9 rebounds and 2 assists. Paul Messenger scored 7 points, had 4 rebounds, and had 1 steal. Caden Long had 6 points, 4 rebounds, and 1 steal. Reagan Huddleston added 2 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists.

Seniors Parker Almond and Paul Messenger, and junior Ty Jones were named to the South A All-Tournament team. The Class A tournament, which will be held at Rebul Academy in Learned, MS, has been postponed until next week due to winter storms.  The Rebels enter the tournament as a #1 seed and will play #4 Desoto School on Monday, February 22 at 5:00 p.m. Good luck to the Rebels in the Class A Tournament!

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